Report: Huawei uncertainty will delay global 5G roll-out

A new report has suggested that global adoption of 5G, once the technology is available, will likely happen up to a year faster than the recent roll-out of 4G, anticipating more than a billion connections by 2022. At the same time, the forecast - published this week by technology firm CCS Insight - says that the process also risks being held up in certain markets by negative attitudes towards Huawei on the part of some governments in relation to network security.

Reasons for the aforementioned optimism regarding timescale include the anticipated launch of 5G devices on the part of “all major Android smartphone makers” by the end of next year. At the same time, according to the report, the way has also been cleared for a 5G-enabled iPhone, following the end of recent dispute between Apple and Qualcomm.

As well as the new devices, there will also be a proliferation of 5G networks, with “practically all major operators” in Western Europe, North America, China and Japan participating.

Speaking of the anticipated proliferation of devices in particular, CCS Insight vice president of forecasting Marina Koytcheva said: "Fierce competition, coupled with subsidies and incentives in certain markets, will ensure rapid price erosion of 5G devices in 2020. This will facilitate fast adoption of 5G by smartphone users.

“Operators will wish to move to 5G to take advantage of capacity gains and lower costs for serving [those] users, whose appetite for mobile data is quickly growing.”